Air manifold for a combine chaffer material leveler and aerator

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an attachment for a conventional grain combine which includes a sieve or chaffer area where the grain is delivered for finish cleaning, and comprises a high-speed blower that automatically delivers a flow of air under static pressure through a pendulum-operated valve for controlled transmission of air through a plurality of conduits arranged in parallel to manifolds on opposite sides of the chaffer and to a manifold extended tranversely across the combine. All of the manifolds are mounted adjacent the front of the chaffer to deliver a majority of air to the downhill side of the chaffer for directing grain to the uphill side while always maintaining a small amount of air to the uphill side to prevent clogging of the uphill manifold, and to deliver air through the transverse manifold to direct air to the substantially horizontal flow of grain to thereby separate chaff and trash from the heavier grain, effecting an aeration of the material which aids in cleaning. The manifolds on the opposite side of the chaffer are stationary and are not movable with the chaffer. Each of the oppositely disposed manifolds includes a manifold housing connected to its respective conduit and extending downwardly therefrom. A horizontally disposed discharge opening is provided in the manifold housing above the lower end thereof. The cross-sectional area of the lower end of the manifold housing is less than the cross-sectional area at the upper end of the housing to maintain peak output pressure.

United States Patent- [72] Inventors Vernon 11. Sietmann Laurel, Iowa50141; Gerald F. Dendel, 236 E. 16th 81., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627 [21]Appl. No. 801,514 [22] Filed Feb. 24, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971[54] AIR MANIFOLD FOR A COMBINE CHAFFER MATERlAL LEVELER AND AERATOR 9Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. CI... 130/27 AE [51] int. Cl. A01f 12/48 [50] Field of Search130/2718, 24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,694,493 11/1954 Odegarden130/2718 2,750,037 6/1956 Taylor 130/2718 3,456,652 7/1969 Louks et al.130/27.18 3,495,598 2/1970 Louks et a1. 130/27.18

Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida Attorney-Zarley, McKee & ThomteABSTRACT: This invention relates to an attachment for a conventionalgrain combine which includes a sieve or chaffer area where the grain isdelivered for finish cleaning, and comprises a high-speed blower thatautomatically delivers a flow of air under static pressure through apendulum-operated valve for controlled transmission of air through aplurality of conduits arranged in parallel to manifolds on oppositesides of the chaffer and to a manifold extended tranversely across thecombine. All of the manifolds are mounted adjacent the front of thechaffer to deliver a majority of air to the downhill side of the chaflerfor directing grain to the uphill side while always maintaining a smallamount of air to the uphill side to prevent clogging of the uphillmanifold, and to deliver air through the transverse manifold to directair to the substantially horizontal flow of grain to thereby separatechaff and trash from the heavier grain, effecting an aeration of thematerial which aids in cleaning. The manifolds on the opposite side ofthe chaffer are stationary and are not movable with the chaffer. Each ofthe oppositely disposed manifolds includes a manifold housing connectedto its respective conduit and extending downwardly therefrom. Ahorizontally disposed discharge opening is provided in the manifoldhousing above the lower end thereof. The cross-sectional area of thelower end of the manifold housing is less than the cross-sectional areaat the upper end of the housing to maintain peak output pressure.

AIR MANIFOLD FORA COMBINE CIIAFFER MATERIAL LEVELER AND AERATORCROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION Reference is made to thecopending applications as to the same subject matter in Ser. No. 514,859filed Dec. 20, 1965, which issued on July 22, 1969, as US. Pat. No.3,456,652, and Ser, No. 595,852 filed Nov. 21, 1966, which issued onFeb. 17,1970 as US. Pat. No. 3,495,598.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a grainharvester and more particularly to an apparatus for aiding theseparation of grain from the straw and chaff. More particularly, thisinvention relates to an improvement in the oppositely disposed manifoldsof the invention disclosed in Ser. No. 710,230 filed Mar. 4, 1968.

In recent years, the combine harvester, or harvesterthresher has becomethe universally accepted machine for harvesting grain crops. Aconventional machine of this character comprises a body unit containingthreshing and separating apparatus, which carries in front of it aheader unit containing grain cutting and conveying apparatus. As themachine is moved through the fields, grain cut by the cutting apparatusis conveyed to the body unit where it is thrashed, and where the grainkernels are separated from the straw and chaff.

Conventional grain harvesters include as a part of the separatingmechanism horizontally disposed screens or sieves upon which thekernels, chaff, and unthreshed heads are deposited after the straw isseparated from them. The screens or sieves are reciprocated rapidly in afore and aft direction in the path of a rearwardly and upwardly directedstream of air from a fan mounted in the body unit to separate thekernels from the chaff and unthreshed heads. The small, relatively heavykernels pass through the screens and are collected therebeneath. Thelight chaff is blown out of the rear end of the body unit. Theunthreshed heads, being too large to pass through the screens but tooheavy to be blown with the chaff, drop from the rear edges of thescreens into a return auger and are collected for rethreshing.

Further included in conventional grain harvesters is a blower fanmounted beneath the separation and cleaning housing which pulls air infrom each end thereof and forces it, through a port or duct, upwardlyand through the sieve or screen area. In certain areas of terrain, ithas beenfound that the air pulled in by the blower fan and forcedthrough the screens is so dirty and full of foreign materials itself,the efficiency of the forced air is considerably lowered.

It can readily be seen that for the separation process to be efficientso as to separate all the kernels from the straw and chaff, the grainmust be maintained in a level condition on top of at least the uppermostscreen. In operation of this type machine over fairly level terrain, theproblem is not too serious. One present day method of solving thepresent problem is by the use of laterally spaced dividers or separatorsextended longitudinally on top of the screens.

In hilly areas, however, the problem is more serious, losses of from -10bushels of grain an acre being reported, due to the uneven distributionof the grain on the screens. Many solutions of this problem have beensuggested, with several being presently used. The great majority ofthese deal with mechanisms for maintaining the screens themselves levelduring movement of the combine over the hilly terrain.

In the first copending application, Ser. No. 514,859 a partial solutionto this problem was disclosed. In that disclosure, the air dispensingmanifolds were placed on opposite sides of the chaffer housing in astationary manner, and with air under pressure, derived from a blowerfan auxiliary to the underside blower fan, emitted from the manifoldstransversely across the chaffer.

Continuing tests and development of that structure showed several areasof improvement. It was ascertained that certain riddles or screens arereciprocated not only fore and aft, but also slightly upwardly anddownwardly. Thus, the fixed manifold housing did not always force ablanket of air directly over the surface 'of the oscillating screens.Furthermore, material tended to lodge beneath the manifold housings anddistort same as the screens oscillated therebeneath.

It was also found that the source of air pressure for the manifoldscould be derived from the underside blower fan without impairing thecapacity output thereof for cleaning purposes, and that the efficiencyof this arrangement was greatly increased by obtaining clean air fromnear the top of the combine harvester rather than at the far location.

Additionally, the manifolds were located on opposite sides of the riddleor separator unit in the alternative to the riddle manifolds, and it wasascertained that the efficiency and effectiveness of the system in thisarea was still considerably greater than that known or obtained in otherknown forced air systems.

As shown in the second copending application, Ser. No. 595,852 distinctimprovements were introduced. Manifolds were placed on opposite sides ofthe riddle or separator unit, and with a noticeable increase of grainand chaff separation efficiency. Manifolds for the riddle or chafferarea were built into that part of the chaffer which shakes to maintainthe transverse airflow constant with the surface of the chaffer. Allleveling air was derived from near the top of the combine for cleanerair.

Leveling air wasemitted from both manifolds at all times, with thegreatest amount from the downhill manifold, but with a small butsufficient amount from the uphill manifold to prevent it from becomingclogged during operation. Additionally, a transversely extended plenumchamber was introduced across the front or inner end of the chatfer toreceive the air from both manifolds, and to redirect it upwardly andangularly relative to the normally horizontal flow of grain and chaff,whereby to aerate or separate the chaff and trash upwardly and away fromthe heavier grain.

As shown in the third copending application, Ser. No. 710,230, distinctimprovements were introduced. However, it has been found that the factthat the oppositely disposed manifolds vibrate with the chaffer causesexcessive wear on the conduit hoses. It has also been found that alarger area of the chatfer may be subjected to the directed air byproviding a stationary manifold rather than the movable manifolddisclosed in Ser. No. 710,230. Further, it has also been found that thestructure of the manifolds disclosed in Ser. No. 710,230 create somedifficulty in the removal of certain of the chaffer components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In summary, this invention pertains to anapparatus for aiding the separation of grain from all other materialtherewith passing longitudinally over a chaffer unit in a conventionalthreshing machine, and which apparatus comprises generally a blower unitmounted on the machine and operable by connection with the machine toforce air under pressure through a conduit group to a pair of manifoldhousings placed on opposite sides of the chaffer unit at its innermostend, and to a plenum chamber that is extended across the inner end ofthe chaffer, and which manifold housings and plenum chamber haveapertures formed thereinto enable the air under pressure to be directedsimultaneously over the upper surface of the chamber in the form of twoblankets of air moving in directions normal to each other.

The air is transmitted from the blower unit to the'conduit group througha valve assembly which is controlled in response to the tilt of thecombine when on uneven terrain, and which valve assembly causes air tobe transmitted to both of the hillside manifolds at all times, but withmore air always being directed to the low side manifold than to the highside manifold; and wherein air is also directed in parallel with thehillside manifolds to the plenum chamber aerator for emission therefromat all times that the combine is on substantially level terrain.

More particularly, this invention pertains to an improved design of theoppositely disposed manifolds wherein each of the manifolds includes amanifold housing secured to the conduit and which extends downwardlytherefrom. A horizontally disposed discharge opening is provided in themanifold housing above the lower end thereof. The cross-sectional areaof the lower end of the housing is less than the cross-sectional area ofthe upper end of the housing to maintain peak output pressure. Themanifold housings of this invention are stationary and do not move withthe chaffer to decrease the wear on the conduit hoses. The shape of themanifold housing does not obstruct the material passing through thecombine and does not accumulate dirt and debris therearound.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved combine,particularly in the increased efficiency of the grain cleaning area,wherein more and cleaner grain is provided.

Still another object of the invention is to provide air simultaneouslyto oppositely disposed stationary manifolds on either side of the riddleor chaffer for hillside leveling control, and to a transverse plenumchamber at the front of the chaffer for forcing air through the flow ofgrain for separation or aeration purposes, thereby making the grain moreclean.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which can beinstalled initially as an integral part of a new combine, or which canreadily be installed after manufacture of the combine, as an accessoryitem.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide such an apparatus foremitting an opposing pair of blankets of air under pressure indirections initially normal to the flow of grain over a riddle, whichblankets move directly over and parallel to the surface of the riddle.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved manifoldhousing design suitable for use with the invention disclosed in Ser. No.710,230 filed Mar. 4, 1968.

A further object of this invention is to provide a manifold housing asdescribed herein which has a decreasing cross-sectional area from itsupper to lower ends.

A further object of this invention is to provide a manifold housinghaving a horizontally disposed discharge opening provided therein spacedabove the lower end thereof.

A further object of this invention is to provide a manifold housingwhich is stationary and does not move with the vibrating chaffer.

A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus includinga manifold housing which permits chaffer components to be easily removedfrom the combine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an apparatusincluding a manifold housing having an exterior shape which does notobstruct and does not accumulate dirt and debris therearound.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an apparatusincluding a manifold housing which is economical of manufacture, anddurable in use.

These objects, and other features and advantages of this invention willbecome more readily apparent upon reference to the following descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a combine harvester with which theapparatus of this invention is assembled;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of the interior ofthe chaffer area, looking inwardly from the rear of the combine, withcertain parts broken away for clarity of invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view as seen along lines 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the manifold housing seen in FIG. 3;and

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the manifold housing seen in FIGS.3 and 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As previously stated, thisinvention pertains to an improved design of the oppositely disposedmanifolds of Ser. No. 710,230 and reference is made to the disclosure ofsaid copending application.

The apparatus of this invention is mounted on a conventional combineindicated generally at 20 in FIG. 1. Combine 20 is mounted on a pair ofdrive wheels 2] and a pair of rear dolly wheels 13. v

The threshing and separating elements of the combine 20 are mountedinside a housing 23, the bottom rear area of which is open. As is wellknown in the art, after the threshing operation about percent of thegrain is passed over a riddle or separator unit 24 (FIG. 2) and thencedownwardly to a cleaning mechanism. Grain still remaining in the strawis dislodged by commonly called straw walkers" (not shown) which aremounted about the cleaning mechanism. Operation of the straw walkerseffects a final separation of the grain, whereupon the grain fallsdownwardly either directly onto the cleaning mechanism or onto a returnconveyor for movement to the rear of the mechanism as described more indetail hereinafter.

The cleaning mechanism itself comprises, in this combine 20, a sieve 26,which is reciprocated backwards and forwards longitudinally of thehousing 23 to agitate, in conjunction with air from a cleaning fan (notshown), the material deposited thereon. Grain kernels deposited on thesieve 26 are permitted to work therethrough and drop onto a collectingpan 28 therebeneath which forms part of the bottom of the housing 23.The pan 28 contains a grain auger 29 which transports the graintransversely of the combine to an elevator (not shown) where it iselevated to a grain tank 31 mounted on the combine 20. Chaff and otherforeign material deposited on the sieve 26 is caught in an air streamand blown out through a discharge opening 32 formed at the rear of thecombine housing 23.

An air blower unit 33 is provided on the upper rearward area of thecombine 20 and has a valve assembly 34 connected thereto for receivingair therefrom. A control assembly 35 is provided on combine 20 forcontrolling the operation of the valve assembly 34 to permit the valveassembly 34 to properly distribute air from the blower unit to a conduitgroup indicated generally at 36. The conduit group 36 includes conduitswhich are suitably connected to a pair of hillside manifolds 37 and 38and an aerator housing 39.

The air blower unit 33 comprises a blower fan which has a predeterminedstatic air pressure rating and which is mounted on the upper surface ofthe combine housing 23 by any convenient means. The air blower unit 33is driven by the combine engine 40 by suitable belt and pulley apparatusgenerally indicated at 41 in FIG. 1.

The valve assembly 34 and the valve control assembly 35 operate tocontrol the amount of air transmitted from the air blower unit 33 to theconduit group 36 and also operate to control which of the conduitsreceive air, and how much air is received by the respective conduits.

Generally speaking, the conduit group 36 includes a pair of outer,hillside, flexible conduits 47 and 48, and a pair of inner, aerator,flexible conduits 51. The two hillside conduits 47 and 48 leadrespectively to the pair of hillside manifolds 37 and 38 respectively,which manifolds 37 and 38 are identical and as they are identical, onlyone will be described.

The manifold 37 includes a back plate 60 having a tubular intake conduit62 extending transversely therefrom adapted to be received by an opening64 in housing 23 and adapted to have the conduit 47 detachably connectedthereto by any convenient means. Back plate 60 includes a pair oflaterally extending wings 66 at the lower end thereof which are providedto facilitate the attachment of the manifold 37 to the housing 23 bymeans of bolt assembly 68 extending therethrough as illustrated in FIG.3. The upper end of the back plate 60 is provided with a pair ofopenings 70 and 71 adapted to receive bolt assemblies 72 extendingtherethrough for attachment of the manifold to the housing 23.

Manifold 37 includes a front wall 73 having an inclined wall portion 74extending downwardly and outwardly from the upper end thereof. Frontwall 73 includes a wall portion 75 which extends downwardly and inwardlywith respect to housing 23 from the lower end of inclined wall portion74. Manifold 37 includes a backwall 76 having a horizontal portion 77extending inwardly from backwall 60 and having a wall portion 78extending downwardly and inwardly from the inner end of wall portion 77in a parallel relationship with respect to wall portion 75. The lowerend of the manifold 37 is closed by a bottom 79 extending between thefront and backwalls thereof. Housing 37 also includes a pair ofsidewalls 80 extending between the front and backwalls to define apassageway 81 within the manifold. A horizontally disposed dischargeopening 82 is provided in front wall 73 above the lower end thereof asseen in FIG. 4 for a reason to be explained hereinafter.

As seen in H6. 3, the cross-sectional area of the lower end of themanifold 37 is less than the cross-sectional area at the upper endthereof which maintains peak output pressure through the opening 82. Asseen in FIG. 3, an acute angle is formed between horizontal wall portion77 and wall portion 78 so that the manifold 37 may extend over theretaining plate 83 which is secured to the interior surface of housing23 while causing the lower end of the manifold 37 to be positioned asclose to the wall 84 which is secured to the sieve 26 and which movestherewith.

In operation, a proper amount of air is furnished to the manifolds 37,38 and 39 by the fan means 33 through the valve means 34 and into theconduit group 36 and such air would depend upon the attitude of thecombine with respect to the horizontal. Air is forced into the conduit47 and into the tubular member 62 of the manifold 37. The air is forceddownwardly through the passageway 82 in manifold 37 and outwardlythrough the discharge opening 82 formed in the lower end thereof. Thefact that the manifold 37 is stationary with respect to the vibratingsieve 26 reduces wear on the manifold 37 and the conduit 47. The designof the manifold 37 as well as its stationary feature permits themanifold to clean a larger area with respect to the sieve 26 since thesieve vibrates approximately one and one-half inches fore and aftthreequarters inch vertically. Such a vibrating action in the path ofthe stationary draft improves the cleaning action of the combine. Theexterior shape of the manifold is such that it does not obstruct theflow of material through the combine and does not permit dirt and debristo accumulate therearound.

The fact that the opening 82 is spaced above the lower end of themanifold 37 (see lip 86, FlGS. 3 and 4) provides much better cleaningaction than if the discharge opening were placed flush with the bottomof the conduit. Additionally, by providing the opening 82 in a spacedrelationship with the bottom of the manifold 37 makes it impossible toplug or clog the manifold 37 by the debris being directed thereagainstby the opposing manifold since the worst that could happen is that onlythat portion of passageway 81 between the opening 82 and the bottom ofthe manifold 37 would become plugged. The material would not passupwardly into the passageway 81 above the opening 82 under anycondition. it was found that in certain of the previous designs of thecopending applications, come clogging would occur in the manifolds whichwould reduce the efficiency of the unit.

As seen in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional area of the lower end of themanifold 37 is less than the cross-sectional area of the upper end ofthe manifold 37 which permits the unit to maintain peak output pressureat the discharge opening 82. By designing the manifold 37 in such a waythat the lower end extends inwardly and downwardly from the upper end asbest viewed in FIG. 3, it is possible to position the lower end of themanifold 37 closely adjacent the wall 84 while permitting the unit toextend over the element 83. The design of the manifold 37 also makes itpossible to remove the internal components of the combine for repairand/or replacement. The opposing currents of air which are emitted bythe manifolds 37 and 38 together with the manifold 39 to aid in theseparation of the chaff and debris from the grain kernels. The manner inwhich the air is supplied to the manifolds and the amount suppliedthereto does not necessarily form a part of this invention since thisinvention is primarily directed to the structure of the manifolds 37 and38 which permits improved reaction of the combine chaffer materialleveler and aerator such as disclosed in S er. No. 7l0,230 filed Mar. 4,I968. Thus it can be seen that the device accomplishes at least all ofits stated objec- We claim:

ll. Apparatus for use with a threshing machine, said threshing machinehaving a housing and a chaffer unit conventionally mounted forreciprocating movement within said housing, said chaffer unit having asieve and lateralwalls extending upwardly from the opposite sides ofsaid sieve, and said walls being adapted to reciprocate with saidchaffer unit, said apparatus comprising:

blower means mounted on said machine and operable by said machine topull in air from the atmosphere;

conduit means connected to said blower means for receiving andtransmitting air under pressure therefrom; manifold means mounted onopposite sides of said chaffer unit within said housing and connected tosaid conduit 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said manifold means arerigidly secured to said housing in a stationary manner and wherein saidchaffer unit is movably mounted in said housing and moves with respectto said manifold means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said manifold housings havea passageway formed therein extending between upper and lower ends, thecross-sectional area of the lower end of said passageway being less thanthe cross-sectional area of the upper end of said passageway.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said manifold housings each includeupper and lower ends, said manifold housing being connected at its upperend to said conduit means, said horizontal discharge opening beingformed in said manifold housing above the lower end thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said manifold housings each includean upper manifold housing portion and a lower manifold housing portionwhich extends downwardly and inwardly therefrom towards said housing.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the cross-sectional configuration ofsaid lower manifold housing portion is rectangular.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said machine housing includesoppositely disposed sidewalls to which said manifold means aredetachably secured, each of said manifold housings including a tubularintake portion at their upper ends extending through an opening formedin said sidewall, said conduit means being connected to said tubularintake portion.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the discharge openings have a lipalong their lower edges which defines the lower edge of said dischargeopenings, said lower edge of said discharge openings being positionedabove the bottom of said manifold means.

,9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the vertical height of said lip isless than the vertical width of said discharge openings.

1. Apparatus for use with a threshing machine, said threshing machinehaving a housing and a chaffer unit conventionally mounted forreciprocating movement within said housing, said chaffer unit having asieve and lateral walls extending upwardly from the opposite sides ofsaid sieve, and said walls being adapted to reciprocate with saidchaffer unit, said apparatus comprising: blower means mounted on saidmachine and operable by said machine to pull in air from thE atmosphere;conduit means connected to said blower means for receiving andtransmitting air under pressure therefrom; manifold means mounted onopposite sides of said chaffer unit within said housing and connected tosaid conduit means; said manifold means having a pair of manifoldhousings each connected to said housing of said threshing machine andextending downwardly between said lateral walls of said chaffer unit toterminate in a lower end adjacent said sieve and in close proximity toone of said lateral walls, said lower ends being free from motiontransmitting connection with said lateral walls and said sieve; saidlower ends each having a substantially horizontal discharge openingformed therein extended substantially parallel to and above the surfaceof said sieve.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said manifold meansare rigidly secured to said housing in a stationary manner and whereinsaid chaffer unit is movably mounted in said housing and moves withrespect to said manifold means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein eachof said manifold housings have a passageway formed therein extendingbetween upper and lower ends, the cross-sectional area of the lower endof said passageway being less than the cross-sectional area of the upperend of said passageway.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein saidmanifold housings each include upper and lower ends, said manifoldhousing being connected at its upper end to said conduit means, saidhorizontal discharge opening being formed in said manifold housing abovethe lower end thereof.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said manifoldhousings each include an upper manifold housing portion and a lowermanifold housing portion which extends downwardly and inwardly therefromtowards said housing.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein thecross-sectional configuration of said lower manifold housing portion isrectangular.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said machine housingincludes oppositely disposed sidewalls to which said manifold means aredetachably secured, each of said manifold housings including a tubularintake portion at their upper ends extending through an opening formedin said sidewall, said conduit means being connected to said tubularintake portion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the dischargeopenings have a lip along their lower edges which defines the lower edgeof said discharge openings, said lower edge of said discharge openingsbeing positioned above the bottom of said manifold means.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8 wherein the vertical height of said lip is lessthan the vertical width of said discharge openings.